I would like to know what their logic is in setting it up this way. I have a preset for each lipo. So my 4S3250 I want to charge at 3C. The preset is set to 10 amp. Then I might be charging anywhere from 1 to 4 batteries. I tell it 4P and it brings the amps down to 2.5 amps. Then I have to bring it back to 10 amps per battery.

I do love the charger. I even bought a second one.

In the last 3 months I have tested about 15 PB batteries using the regen discharge.

I would like to know what their logic is in setting it up this way. I have a preset for each lipo. So my 4S3250 I want to charge at 3C. The preset is set to 10 amp. Then I might be charging anywhere from 1 to 4 batteries. I tell it 4P and it brings the amps down to 2.5 amps. Then I have to bring it back to 10 amps per battery.

I do love the charger. I even bought a second one.

In the last 3 months I have tested about 15 PB batteries using the regen discharge.

Hi:

As I mentioned, my preference is to set charge current at the PL8 directly when charging parallel. It takes 10 seconds. When you set the current during the Start Charge questions, it saves it down to the preset automatically. Admittedly, it is not as easy to do using the CCS because you can not alter the preset on the Start Charge screen there.

I just got my PowerLab 8 and am in the process of setting up the presets. At first I was a little confused by the division of the charge rates.

If I have the charger set to charge one 5000 mAh battery at 5 amps then I get a 1C charge. However, if I am paralleling two 5000 mAh batteries do I need to up the charge rate to 10 amps to maintain a 5 amp charge per pack?

As a small workaround I made several sets of presets. One preset is setup for a one pack charge and another is set to a two pack charge, one 5 amps and the other 10 amps (Assuming I am charging the 5000 mAh packs at 1C).

This still is not clear to me...I think an example in the manual would clear it up(one for now as well please)...

If I am using "generic faster lipo charge" with 2 batteries...do I change the preset to 2C if I have two batteries in parallel?

My packs are 6000mah...

Hi:

If you have 1 6000 mAh pack connected, and you want to charge it at 2C, either set the AUTO to 2C, or select a manual charge rate of 12A.

If you have 2 x 6000 mAh packs connected in parallel, and you want to charge at 2C, either set the AUTO to 2C, or select a manual charge rate of 24A. When you connect packs in parallel, you double the capacity.

I'm used to setting the total charge rate for parallel charging having come from an icharger but the logic behind the number of packs setting seems strange.

If the pl8 divides the mah for display during charging (i.e. a per pack rate) then surely it should multiply the set charge rate as well otherwise it just leads to confusion?

Hi,

Customers have already requested a change to how parallel charge rate calculation works. Currently, it divides the set rate by the number of packs in parallel. But customers want it to multiply the preset’s charge rate by the number of packs in parallel. So, we like this idea. We’re going to change it. We hope to release a substantial firmware/CCS revision in 2 weeks or so. I think you will like how the new firmware will operate with regard to parallel charging. Please be patient for a little bit longer.

Customers have already requested a change to how parallel charge rate calculation works. Currently, it divides the set rate by the number of packs in parallel. But customers want it to multiply the preset’s charge rate by the number of packs in parallel. So, we like this idea. We’re going to change it. We hope to release a substantial firmware/CCS revision in 2 weeks or so. I think you will like how the new firmware will operate with regard to parallel charging. Please be patient for a little bit longer.

That's great news.

This is one of the main reasons why i've just bought a pl8 - there does seems to be a willingness to take suggestions from users on board and make changes where appropriate.

How about this one. I'll be using at least 6 parallel balance boards at once, how about making them interlock physically in order to bring some order to my charging station?